Mr Kilshaw revealed they would be prepared to offer a loving home to any child - and would consider adopting an orphan refugee child from any war zone country around the world, including Afghanistan.

Mrs Kilshaw left the UK last week and was driven by her husband to Italy to try to sort things out.

Her solicitor husband returned home and left her there and he says she is now 'somewhere in Europe' making the necessary arrangements.

The couple are busy checking out adoption laws and attitudes in European countries.

But that did not mean they would necessarily adopt a child from that country, he said.

Once they found a country that did not have 'the ridiculously restrictive adoption laws' of the UK, they could base themselves there and adopt a child from elsewhere ­- possibly an orphan refugee child from a war zone such as Afghanistan, Croatia or Romania.

The couple, who have two sons aged eight and five, want to adopt a daughter and Mr Kilshaw hopes the arrangements can be made 'within weeks'.

'I am only saying it may come off, hopefully, but we have been let down badly before and been disappointed.'

The couple ­ whose attempts to buy the American twins were thwarted when social services seized the children and a high court judge ordered their return to America ­ will not be returning to Britain with any child they might adopt.

Mr Kilshaw said there could be no question of that.

Having moved recently from Buckley, he is at home in Westminster Park, Chester, with their two sons. His wife is to return in a few weeks following her fact-finding mission.

If they were able to adopt, Mrs Kilshaw would have to live abroad and he would join his wife with their two sons initially and would remain with her for some time ­- although his long term future would be back in the UK where he had a business to run.

He blasted the British Government and its attitude to adoption which he said was forcing people desperate to adopt to split up their families and to be effectively banished from the UK.

The family could end up with he and the boys in Britain only seeing their mother each fortnight or so. 'That might have to go on for two to three years,' he said.